Fortress Europe in 2020: barbed wire seals off the EU’s external border, refugees are fended off with tear gas and stun grenades, occasionally there are sharp shots. Anyone who falls into the hands of the border guard will be robbed of their belongings and sent back, or arrested in an unknown location. What was only a requirement of the AfD in Germany in 2015 will be a reality on the Greek border with Turkey in 2020. Even more: it is politically wanted and is expressly welcomed by the highest German authority. Who needs a Beatrix von Storch in the AfD when you have an Ursula von der Leyen at the head of the EU Commission.
The appearance of the German EU Commission chief in Greece on Tuesday was unworthy. She not only thanked the Greek authorities and promised them help, which was normal. It also avoided any public word of criticism of the Greek approach, be it the attacks against refugees or the suspension of the right to asylum. “Maintaining order at our external border is our priority,” she said instead.
In addition, it considered it appropriate to expressly thank the Greek civilian population. For what? The visible contribution from the Greek civilian population to border security is that right-wing extremists form thugs that hunt foreigners. Again, no noticeable word from the German EU boss.
Is this the “language of power” that Ursula von der Leyen demands from the EU? It would be a brutal, inglorious language. The time when partitioned borders, barbed wire and the use of firearms to “maintain order at our external border” were declared legitimate by Germans was actually over in 1989. But at least the EU boss can now act confidently against Putin, Trump, and Xi. Because with these rulers she has sided with violence, against people, and against humanity.